Lady Tigers to host Green Bay in NCAA First Round

From LSU Sports

BATON ROUGE – For the 22nd time in program history, the LSU women's basketball team has punched its ticket to "March Madness" as the Lady Tigers drew the sixth seed in the Spokane Region and will play host to No. 11 seed Green Bay (29-2) in the NCAA Tournament first round at approximately 6:30 p.m. CT Sunday in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

No. 3 seed Penn State (25-5) takes on No. 14 seed Cal Poly (21-10) in the first contest at 4:15 p.m. CT. The two winners will face off in the second round at 8:30 p.m. CT Tuesday. All three games of the Baton Rouge first and second rounds will be televised live by ESPN2, ESPN3.com and the Watch ESPN App on tablets.

All-session ticket books, single-session tickets and group tickets are now on sale at www.LSUtix.net. Fans can also purchase tickets at the LSU Athletic Ticket Office on the first floor of the LSU Athletic Administration Building or by phone at (225) 578-2184.

All-session ticket books for adults are $25 and $15 for youth. That price includes a ticket of admission to both first round contests and the second round game.

In addition, single-session tickets, allowing admission into either both first round games or the second round game only, are now on sale. Single-session tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for youth. If your purchase 10 or more tickets, tickets are available for only $5 apiece.

LSU students are admitted free of charge to the games with a valid LSU ID.

In two seasons under head coach Nikki Caldwell, the Lady Tigers (20-11) have produced late-season surges to reach the NCAA Tournament and are playing their best basketball at the right time of the year. LSU heads into the tournament with wins in seven of its last eight games while solidifying its defense down the stretch.

"It is always refreshing to see your name called on selection Monday," said Caldwell. "I am extremely excited about this team and the body of work they have put together to put us in a position to continue to play. We are a team that has gone through a lot, but we are also a team that has rallied and been there for each other and we get to play some more basketball."

The Lady Tigers have one of the Southeastern Conference's most balanced offenses with four players producing double-figure scoring. First-team All-SEC junior forward Theresa Plaisance paces the team with 17.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Plaisance has scored in double-figures in 30 consecutive contests. Senior guard Adrienne Webb is seeking one final tournament run as she averaged 14.1 points per game.

"On the offensive side for us, we go as Theresa Plaisance goes," said Caldwell. "We know that she has got to have the touches and she has to have the looks. More importantly, everyone has to do their part. When we talk about our slogan, "eight is enough," we do feel that eight (players) are enough."

Green Bay and Penn State are familiar with postseason play in the Maravich Center. The Phoenix, champions of the Horizon League and owners of a 24-game winning streak, return to Baton Rouge for the first time since falling to LSU in the 2009 first round. Like that season, both teams are six and 11 seeds this tournament. Green Bay has not lost a game since at Central Michigan on Dec. 5 and they are giving up only 48.1 points per game.

Penn State, ranked eighth in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches poll, eliminated LSU from the 2012 NCAA Tournament with a 90-80 win in the second round in the Maravich Center. The Nittany Lions are led by junior guard Maggie Lucas, who is averaging 20.5 points per game and has made 96 threes on the year. Lucas scored 30 points in the win over LSU last season.

Cal Poly claimed the Big West Conference Tournament over the weekend. They feature Big West Conference Player of the Year Molly Schlemer, who is putting up 13.0 points and 7.0 rebounds.

The winner of the Baton Rouge site will advance to the regional semifinal in Spokane, Wash., and face the winner of the Lubbock, Texas, site. The 2013 Women's Final Four will be held in New Orleans on April 7 and 9.